Conventions of a Thriller film

There are particular conventions that are customary in the production of Thriller films:

• Low key lighting - Low key lighting is used in Thriller films to promote a sense of tension, seeing as things are never usually quite as they seem regarding the content, this hazy and misleading use of lighting reflects the way that the content of Thriller films can mislead its audiences.
• Quick cuts - Quick cuts are usually a prominent use of editing in Thriller films, seeing as quick cuts promote a tense atmosphere. They never really give the audience enough time to focus on what's happening in the current scene, which encourages a flustered sort of effect.
• Shadows - Shadows are incorporated into Thriller films as they foreshadow elements of danger. As danger and threat is a recurring aspect of Thriller films, it is important to incorporate visual elements that add to this.  
• Tension music - Music is one of the most significant methods when it comes to creating tension and atmosphere in any genre of film. Seeing as Thriller films aim to create the most extreme feelings of terror and exhilaration, it is vital that the selected music is of the right sound and balance to achieve these goals.
• Changes in the angle of shots - A use of many different angles of shots creates feelings of disorientation and confusion, the alterations can make the audience feel sensations of stress and paranoia, which contributes to the typical feelings and conventions associated with Thriller films.
• Diegetic sound of breathing - This particular use of diegetic sound is iconic to Thriller productions, the sound can be very stressful to listen to and can foreshadow or illuminate elements of danger with in a particular scene. Therefore creating stress and anxiety for the audiences, also filling them with exhilaration.
• Protagonist is in the mercy of the Antagonist - In Thriller films, there is nearly always a villain and a victim, the antagonist villain is always presenting some sort of distress or danger to the protagonist victim. This is also an element iconic to Thriller films.

When producing our own Thriller film, we focused vary carefully on the different conventions associated with Thriller films. For example, tense music is present in our production, it promotes the eerie and unnerving ambience that we were aiming to achieve with our production. We also focused on using important sound affects, such as the repetition of the sound of a beating heart. Much like the sound of heavy breathing, the heart beat sound in 'Vanished' created a sense of danger and anxiety, it leaves the audience waiting for something extreme to happen. As well as the music and sound affects, we also focused on the different shot angles, we did this to created a disorientated sort of feel for the audience, leaving them almost confused and adding to the ambiguity.